Seeing the Invisible
by My Quiet Riot
Summary: Michael has loved her for years, but to her, he's only her best friend's brother. She always talks about being invisible to others, but she's not invisible to him. In fact, it's the other way around: he's invisible to her. Not as a person, considering they're good friends; but when he hears her talk about Josh, he feels as invisible as she does. [Mia/Michael]


A/N: Hi! So I just watched Princess Diaries again tonight, and I remembered how much I love Michael and Mia together. The second movie was good and all, but I lowkey always wished her and Michael ended up together in the end. This fic is inspired by the scene where Michael brings Mia's car back, and there's that super awkward interaction with the pore strip and the invitation to the ball and Michael leaving after making some rude (but well-deserved, in my opinion) remarks. I took lines and actions directly from that scene, but I promise it will have another ending. This isn't going to be a super long fic, but it will be at least two chapters, possibly more if I can think of more to write.

Anyways, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!

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Mia sat alone at her desk, her laptop open in front of her and TV on. Some overly-dramatic soap opera was playing, but she wasn't really paying attention to it. Her head was still spinning with all the new information and skills her grandmother had been teaching her. It was weird to think that she—her awkward, clumsy, teenage self—was a princess. Sometimes, under her grandmother's guidance, she truly did feel like royalty, like a princess. But tonight, she didn't feel like a princess at all. Tonight, she felt like that awkward, self-conscious, nerdy girl who couldn't do anything right. She had made a huge mistake going to that stupid beach party—not only because Josh was a huge jerk, but because she ended up blowing off two of her closest (possibly two of her _only_ ) friends in the process.

Lilly wasn't ready to forgive her yet, and Mia completely understood. Her friend could hold quite a grudge, and Lilly had every reason to be mad at her. But Michael had always been a lot more like her in the sense that he couldn't hold a grudge very long. In fact, now that she thought about it, Michael had always been very similar to her in general. She had been best friends with Lilly for as long as she could remember, so in turn, she had known Michael almost as long. They weren't instant friends or anything, but Mia was constantly at Lilly's house growing up, and Michael was usually there. They had all played together when they were younger, but as they got older, Lilly and Mia went off to do their own thing more often. Even though she loved Lilly to death, there were times she would become frustrated with her and need a little space. They were, after all, polar opposites in every sense of the word. Usually those differences worked in their favor, but when they didn't, she would sometimes hang out with Michael and vent about whatever temporary tension had built up between her and Lilly. He was a great listener, always kind and supportive and offering advice where he could. He was really funny, too, and he could almost always make her laugh. Even if she and Lilly were fighting or her whole day had consisted of getting mercilessly taunted by their classmates, Michael somehow managed to crack a joke or make a sarcastic remark.

They had been friends for a long time, and she cared deeply about Michael—that much she knew for sure. But because they had known each other for so long, she had hardly ever stopped to think about the _way_ she cared for him. It had never even crossed her mind that she might be romantically interested in Michael, let alone the idea that he would be interested in her. After all, he worked on cars and played in a band, and she was just... Well, herself. It never occurred to her that Michael might have thought of her as more than just his sister's best friend.

It was kind of funny, in a messed-up sort of way: She had had a stupid, unrealistic crush on Josh for _years_ , which is an embarrassingly-long time to have supposed feelings for someone who doesn't even know you exist. She always knew, deep down, that Josh would never be interested in a girl like her. He only cared about his image, about dating the traditionally-pretty cheerleader and being the captain of whatever sports he played. He truly did not care about anyone but himself. She knew all of that for years, so she should have known that Josh's sudden interest in her had nothing to do with who she was as a person (which was publically proven at that stupid party). She had let him use her, and she was completely humiliated, to say the least.

More than that, though, she had blown off two people who _truly_ cared about her in favor of one that only cared about his 15 minutes of fame to feed his ever-growing ego. Even though Lilly was still (rightfully) mad, she knew her best friend would forgive her eventually. That's what they did, after all—no matter how many stupid fights they got into or what was said, they always forgave each other.

But Michael, on the other hand... She was afraid she'd lost him for good. He had always been a loyal, caring friend who forgave relatively easily. But this time, she knew she had really hurt him. He had nonchalantly shrugged off the idea of a date, but now she knew that it— _she_ —meant more to him than how he acted that day. To him, it _was_ a date, even though he had nervously laughed and said it wasn't. Yes, to him it was a date—a date that she had completely blown off.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the doorbell—well, technically the fire bell—ringing.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, momentarily startled from the sudden noise. "Uh, it's open! Come on in."

She turned off the television and continued typing her paper, expecting to see her grandmother or Lilly. When she heard the sound of keys jangling, however, she turned and was surprised to find Michael strolling in.

"Michael," she blurted, speaking too quickly to mask the subtle hope in her voice. Maybe he had forgiven her, after all. "Hi, um, how are you?"

"Uh, hi," he greeted coolly, his usual bright-eyed smile absent. She knew she was the cause of it, too, and she inwardly flinched. Michael gave her a questioning look and motioned to his nose.

"What?"

"Little guy on your—"

"Oh!" she gasped, quickly turning around. She had entirely forgotten about the giant pore strip on her nose, and now she was going to have to rip it off. _Ugh, here goes nothing,_ she thought to herself as she peeled up the edge and yanked it off. "Oww," she winced quietly, shaking her head slightly as she turned around. "Did Lilly tell you that I called? Because I... I called, and uh—"

"Yeah, uh, I brought you car," he stated in an even, matter-of-fact tone, offering a polite smile.

"Oh, thank you," she acknowledged before continuing. "Seven times I called, and—"

"Doc said that he fixed what he could—"

"I called, like, seven times, and—"

"—and if you have any problems, give him a call."

"Oh, okay," she paused. "Do you want the check now? Because I have the last payment, and..."

Michael looked around uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah. Thank you," he added with the hint of a real smile. He took a few aimless steps forward.

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" she asked as she rummaged through one of her drawers. She knew she had put that check in there somewhere.

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh! Here it is," she said, holding up the white envelope containing the check. "Um, look... Thank you so much for doing this for me. It's really, really, great of you," she smiled, hoping she could try to smooth things over with him.

"I didn't do it for you," he stated harshly.

 _Ouch_ , she thought, his words stinging. "Oh, right," she murmured, trying not to sound too deflated.

"Doc lets me practice, and I help with the cars."

"Of course. Oh, uh, here," she added, remembering she was still holding the check.

"Oh, thanks," he said, looking up at her for a moment and then looking down, awkwardly playing with the check in his hands. A tense silence hung in the air for a couple seconds as she searched for the words to say.

"I know you're still mad at me for blowing you off," Mia started after taking a deep breath, "and I'm _really_ sorry I did."

Michael said nothing, suddenly finding the paints and random art supplies littering the counter to be interesting. Avoiding eye contact, he wordlessly picked up some weird paper mache mask her mother had crafted. The truth was, he wasn't really all that mad. He couldn't care less if she wanted to go to some beach party and have a little fun. He wasn't mad about that. But he _was_ hurt. She had, after all, blown him off to go make out with self-absorbed, airhead Josh. Maybe he was stupid to think she'd ever see him as more than her best friend's brother. If she didn't see him as more than friends before, then she certainly wouldn't think about it after all of the princess stuff went down. She was basically the most popular girl in school now. Granted, he knew it was mostly artificial and people just wanted their 15 minutes of fame. But to someone who had gone years being invisible, any attention at all felt positive. Of course she wouldn't be interested in him. If he were her, he'd probably blow himself off, too.

"Um, but I'm going to try to make it up to you," she continued, her voice rising slightly at the end of the sentence.

"How?" he asked, raising the slightly-creepy mask to his face and cocking his head to the side. He wanted to forgive her, he really did. He missed the friendly banter and funny conversations. He missed _her_. Despite the hurt, he still cared a lot about Mia, and he missed his friend more than anything. But he wasn't going to let himself be a doormat for any and everyone to walk all over. He was done with that.

She managed to suppress a light laugh at the sight of the silly mask. "Well, I'm still going... to the Genovian Independence Day Ball... and I'm inviting you."

He set the mask down, finally looking up and warily meeting her gaze.

"I, it could be fun, you know. I'm, uh, wearing this great dress that I can't breathe in, and, and Lilly's got a date, and..." she trailed off, hopeful gaze meeting his cold one.

For a moment, he seemed to consider it, but then he remembered he was probably her second choice. "Josh looks better in a tux," he spat harshly, looking her square in the eyes.

 _Double ouch_. "... Oh, um..."

Michael turned away, starting to leave.

"See, but it's... I really want you to be the one I share it with. And you don't have to wear a tux," she continued, offering what she hoped was a peacemaking smile. "You can wear sweatpants for all I care, ya' know?"

Michael turned around, a hint of a smile again tracing his features. He bit his lip and looked upwards, seeming to consider it. It _did_ sound like fun, after all. Maybe he could give her one more chance... No, he decided. What if she did the same thing again? Or worse, what if she was just asking him to go out of pity? He didn't really have that many friends, after all, she Mia knew it. Before this whole princess thing, they were both invisible loners together. He wanted to forgive Mia and go to the ball with her, but he didn't want to get hurt again.

"Don't worry about me," he dismissed. "I just consider myself royally flushed." With that, he grabbed the check from the counter, offered a mocking bow, and walked out the door. He knew what he said was hurtful and he regretted it the second it came out, but he couldn't go back now. He couldn't show the weakness of continually forgiving someone who only hurt him in the end.

Mia stood stunned, dejectedly watching him leave. She almost turned and resumed what she was doing, but then she stopped. If he walked away now, she might never get the chance to make things right with him. More than that, these feelings she had for him, whatever they were, would be forever buried. But what were these feelings? She had never thought about them hard enough to define them. Did she have a crush on Michael? She thought she had been in love with Josh, but she realized now that it was just a stupid, schoolgirl crush. How she felt about Josh was nothing compared to how she felt about Michael. When she was around Josh, she was constantly self-conscious and nervous, too scared of what he might think of her to be herself.

But around Michael, it was different. She had known Michael for years, and he knew who she really was. Even throughout all of the crazy, royal changes, he had always remained a constant, loyal friend. Now that she thought about it, she realized he had liked her for quite a while now. She was so stupid not to realize it. He cared about her and wanted to be her friend even before the crazy princess makeover.

"Holy crap," she murmured aloud to herself, coming to a sudden epiphany. "I think I'm in love with Michael."

In that moment, she knew what she had to do.

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A/N: There's chapter 1! There will be at least one more chapter, depending on what I end up writing and the response. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought, good or bad. I would love the critique! (:


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